Interview and text by Joana Söt
Fontaines DC 's latest album Romance, released on August 23rd, has caught the attention of music lovers beyond the post-punk genre in which the band was (until then) categorized. We spoke with guitarist Conor Curley about the production of Romance and the album's sonic influences.
The interview with Conor began with the usual mix of nervousness and excitement expected of any journalist who was a fan of the interviewee. In this case, already anticipating the success of the release of Romance and having followed Fontaines DC 's boom in Europe over the past year, the first exchange with the band's guitarist was already a warning followed by a surreal reassurance.
I say I'm a fan and ask for patience with the excitement of the moment, and Curley, speaking from his London apartment, immediately replies, "Relax, it'll be amazing," while rolling a joint that will accompany him throughout the interview.
The band is coming to Brazil to perform at Lollapalooza 2025, which takes place on March 28, 29, and 30 at the Interlagos racetrack in São Paulo. Click here for more information, including the full lineup and tickets.
Wikimetal: Let's talk about your new album, Romance . It's a heavyweight team behind it! How do you feel about James Ford (Gorillaz, Arctic Monkeys, Shame, Jessie Ware, etc. ) producing Romance ?
Conor Curley: I think being the first album we didn't work on with Dan Carey, we felt that this project specifically needed a fresh hand. We heard an album produced by James from a band called Crocodiles , Sleep Forever , and immediately thought we wanted that on Romance . It represented us in the more alternative sounds that we like and want to do more of.
WM: I heard that you two spent some time apart, each in a different part of the world. How would you say that influenced the music on Romance ?
CC: Writing was crazy. We wrote the album in 4 weeks, even though each of us already had a lot of material pre-written, in the studio in London, practically straight through, and then we had a two-day break and went to France to record for another 3 weeks. It was tense in the best way, all the time pressure and industry pressure ended up affecting us and affecting the sound in a positive way.
I think making music is what keeps me sane – and I can say the same for the guys in the band.
The band is coming to Brazil to perform at Lollapalooza 2025, which takes place in March 2025 at the Interlagos racetrack in São Paulo . Click here for more information, including the full lineup and...
WM: And what was it like recording this album in a – literally – castle?
CC: [Conor laughs loudly] I think it was more of a mansion than a castle, but it was amazing nonetheless! Recording in a homey environment is very important to Fontaines. We discovered there that Nick Cave Skeleton Tree " was recorded in that house and we were blown away by it. Sometimes we'd finish recording at night, we wouldn't even go to Paris, we'd just sit on the studio couch and think, "Did Nick Cave smoke a cigarette here?"
WM: I love this album, it's one of his best.
CC: [smoking tobacco and laughing] That's one of my favorites of his too.
WM: “Starbuster ” has a very sincere meaning based on real events (a panic attack suffered by the vocalist). Does the whole album have a more intimate theme for the band?
CC: [ Romance ] is an album of extremes. We have a lot of 90s influence, Smashing Pumpkins, Butch Vig , Replacements , especially on “Favorite,” personally I was focusing quite a bit on shoegaze , on the sounds of Kevin Shields , which is amazing because every time someone tries to do something like that, nobody succeeds. My friend once said, and I'm going to steal the phrase, but “Loveless” is the Sistine Chapel of guitar.
WM: Loveless is insane.
CC: [nodding] It's different. Above all, he's a great writer too.
WM: Where do you see Fontaines DC in 5 years?
CC: We're going to tour this album, maybe we'll even have a new album by then. We already have the next two years planned, but the goal is always to keep being creative and making art.
Is there any desire on the part of the band to come and play in Brazil in the near future? (laughs)
Conor: We would really like to go to South America, but we don't know exactly when yet.
WM: If you had to define Fontaines DC in one word, what would it be?
CC: Delusional. [everyone laughs]
WM: And " Romance "?
CC: Addictive.
